[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
"38," Michael muttered, staring at the accumulated evolution points displayed in his status window.
In about an hour, after enduring yet another torturous session of drug intake, the number would finally break into three digits.
He wondered if anything significant would happen once it reached that milestone.
So far, he hadn't felt anything as the numbers increased, but he remained hopeful.
More changes to his talent—assuming they were positive—meant more power, and Michael was eager to see just how far he could go.
Once he finished his meal, Michael cleaned up and prepared to lie down on the bed, ready to connect his consciousness to the Land of Origin.
Just as he was about to do so, his phone vibrated, notifying him of a new message.
Michael grabbed the phone and glanced at the screen.
When he saw it was from his aunt, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
In his focus on today's events, he had completely forgotten about his family.
"...What a bastard," Michael muttered, throwing a small jab at himself.
Opening the message, he found it to be short, yet it managed to leave black lines on his forehead.
[Aunt Mia: Have you forgotten about us? You don't want to come home again? You don't like it here, do you? It's okay if you don't. Please take care of yourself.]
"What kind of thoughts has she been having?" Michael sighed, feeling a pang of guilt.
He quickly began typing a response, carefully crafting his words.
He tried to be as honest as he could—which wasn't much—but wrote in a way that would hopefully reassure her.
Michael paused for a moment after sending the message, reflecting on his current state.
His mental health seemed stable enough for a visit home, but it hadn't even crossed his mind.
He had been too focused on getting back to his hotel and diving into the Land of Origin.
Though he could leave now, he didn't feel like it. He loved his family, but they weren't going anywhere.
On the other hand, the thought of his evolution points steadily growing caused his heart to beat with excitement—something that home didn't quite manage to do at the moment.
After sending a message on his phone, Michael noticed another notification—one he must have missed earlier. It had probably come in while he was in the bathroom.
It was from an unknown number.
[****: Hi, it's Mira. Reply when you see this!]
Michael's finger hovered over the screen for a moment before he locked the phone.
"Well, I don't have to reply immediately."
Putting the device aside, Michael decided to stop delaying.
He lay down on his bed and connected his consciousness to the Land of Origin.
The moment he arrived, the Land of Origin greeted him with its usual dim atmosphere.
The sky was still bright, with no sign of evening approaching anytime soon.
His undead were stationed nearby, but after giving them a quick glance, Michael redirected his focus.
Taking a few deep breaths, he prepped himself mentally and physically.
It was time to continue his love-hate relationship with the source liquids.
Michael pulled out a bottle of source liquid from his Mark of Origin and downed it in one go.
The taste was as awful as ever, and familiarity did nothing to make it more bearable.
However, the notification that flashed across his vision immediately lifted his spirits.
[+2 Evolution Points]
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
With renewed determination, Michael didn't stop.
[+2 Evolution Points]
For the next two hours, Michael did nothing but consume source liquids, resting whenever the process became too overwhelming.
He had tried to combat the terrible taste by snacking on something he'd prepared earlier, but the moment he retrieved it from his storage space, the smell alone made him nauseous.
He gave up on the idea altogether.
Unlike his original body, which seemed to gain power smoothly with minimal obstacles, this avatar bore the brunt of every advancement.
Every improvement came with sacrifices, and it wasn't just physical—it chipped away at his sanity.
Michael's mental state during this process was unsettling. His eyes held a hint of madness, born from his sheer determination to push through.
Even when the taste of the source liquids made him gag, he continued, unwilling to quit.
In the end, the torturous journey proved worth it.
[Talent: Infinite Evolution]
Evolution Points: 269
Every one of Michael's undead, including Lucky, was now ready to evolve.
Although his talent didn't show any significant changes after his evolution points broke into three digits, Michael wasn't too disappointed.
He had been monitoring his talent closely, and as expected, it took exactly 125 evolution points to elevate Lucky into an extraordinary-rank undead.
The thought of what Lucky would become filled Michael with anticipation.
It would surely be far more powerful than the current version of his loyal undead.
What Michael found remarkable was that, despite his undead's growing strength, they had never reached a point where they had to go all out.
For this, Michael was grateful and hoped it would remain the same.
However, considering the ruin he was exploring—a place where rank-2 monsters had once guarded doors in the past—Michael doubted the process of conquering it, even after centuries, would be easy.
Still, he hoped all the delays would be worth it.
Even if he didn't find any treasures valued by other Awakeners but instead unearthed bags of spirit crystals, to Michael, this would make the ruin the most rewarding one in his life. Granted, it was the only ruin he'd ever been in.
While eager to evolve his undead, Michael decided to first attempt filling his open contract slots.
At level 10, he had two of twenty slots open, with eight black ape corpses prepared to try and fill them.
Though the number of corpses was small, and there was a chance none would succeed, Michael was somewhat confident.
To achieve the 18 undead he currently had, he'd used {Undead Revival} on nearly 100 corpses.
Since then, his mana manipulation, experience, and understanding of the skill had all improved significantly.
The steady increase in his skill proficiency was proof of this progress.
However, Michael was far less confident about {Undead Summoning} compared to {Undead Revival}.
The former was simply a lost cause for now.